Thus His fame spread through all Syria; and they brought all the sick to Him, the people who were suffering from various diseases and pains--demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He cured them.

"Blessed are you when they have insulted and persecuted you, and have said every cruel thing about you falsely for my sake.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

In the evening many demoniacs were brought to Him, and with a word He expelled the demons; and He cured all the sick,

"Such language is impious," said some of the Scribes among themselves.

And the crowds were awe-struck when they saw it, and ascribed the glory to God who had entrusted such power to a man.

He heard the question and replied, "It is not men in good health who require a doctor, but the sick.

When the demon was expelled, the dumb man could speak. And the crowds exclaimed in astonishment, "Never was such a thing seen in Israel."

Cure the sick, raise the dead to life, cleanse lepers, drive out demons: you have received without payment, give without payment.

and you will even be put on trial before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness to them and to the Gentiles.

To save your life is to lose it, and to lose your life for my sake is to save it.

Yes, Father, for such has been Thy gracious will.

But he who has received the seed on good ground is he who hears and understands. Such hearers give a return, and yield one a hundred for one, another sixty, another thirty.")

And He came into His own country and proceeded to teach in their synagogue, so that they were filled with astonishment and exclaimed, "Where did he obtain such wisdom, and these wondrous powers?

For Herod had arrested John, and had put him in chains, and imprisoned him, for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip's wife,

and the men of the place, recognizing Him, sent word into all the country round. So they brought all the sick to Him,

"Why do you, too," He retorted, "transgress God's commands for the sake of your tradition?

he shall be absolved from honouring his father'; and so you have abrogated God's Word for the sake of your tradition.

Here the Pharisees and Sadducees came to Him; and, to make trial of Him, they asked Him to show them a sign in the sky.

He replied, "In the evening you say, 'It will be fine weather, for the sky is red;'

and in the morning, 'It will be rough weather to-day, for the sky is red and murky.' You learn how to distinguish the aspect of the heavens, but the signs of the times you cannot.

For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it.

And whoever for my sake receives one young child such as this, receives me.

There are men who from their birth have been disabled from marriage, others who have been so disabled by men, and others who have disabled themselves for the sake of the Kingdom of the Heavens. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it."

And whoever has forsaken houses, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children or lands, for my sake, shall receive many times as much and shall have as his inheritance the Life of the Ages.

"I solemnly tell you," said Jesus, "that if you have an unwavering faith, you shall not only perform such a miracle as this of the fig-tree, but that even if you say to this mountain, 'Be thou lifted up and hurled into the sea,' it shall be done;

And before long you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Do not be alarmed, for such things must be; but the End is not yet.

for it will be a time of great suffering, such as never has been from the beginning of the world till now, and assuredly never will be again.

And if those days had not been cut short, no one would escape; but for the sake of God's own People those days will be cut short.

Then will appear the Sign of the Son of Man in the sky; and then will all the nations of the earth lament, when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and glory.

Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.

when I was ill-clad, you clothed me; when I was sick, you visited me; when I was in prison, you came to see me.'

When did we see Thee sick or in prison, and come to see Thee?'

"But the King will answer them, "'In solemn truth I tell you that in so far as you rendered such services to one of the humblest of these my brethren, you rendered them to myself.'

when homeless, you gave me no welcome; ill-clad, you clothed me not; sick or in prison, you visited me not.'

"Then will they also answer, "'Lord, when did we see Thee hungry or thirsty or homeless or ill-clad or sick or in prison, and not come to serve Thee?'

"But he will reply, "'In solemn truth I tell you that in so far as you withheld such services from one of the humblest of these, you withheld them from me.'

"Why such waste?" indignantly exclaimed the disciples;

"I am He," replied Jesus. "But I tell you that, later on, you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Omnipotence, and coming on the clouds of the sky."

and immediately on His coming up out of the water He saw an opening in the sky, and the Spirit like a dove coming down to Him;

and a voice came from the sky, saying, "Thou art My Son dearly loved: in Thee is My delight."

When it was evening, after sunset people came bringing Him all who were sick and the demoniacs;

and such numbers of people came together that there was no longer room for them even round the door. He was speaking His Message to them,

"Why does this man use such words?" they said; "he is blaspheming. Who can pardon sins but One--that is, God?"

When He was sitting at table in Levi's house, a large number of tax-gatherers and notorious sinners were at table with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many such who habitually followed Him.

Jesus heard the words, and He said, "It is not the healthy who require a doctor, but the sick: I did not come to appeal to the righteous, but to sinners."

With many such parables He used to speak the Message to them according to their capacity for receiving it.

For Herod himself had sent and had had John arrested and had kept him in prison in chains, for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife; because he had married her.

Then the King, though intensely sorry, yet for the sake of his oaths, and of his guests, would not break faith with her.

Then they scoured the whole district, and began to bring Him the sick on their mats wherever they heard He was.

And enter wherever He might--village or town or hamlet--they laid their sick in the open places, and entreated Him to let them touch were it but the tassel of His robe; and all, whoever touched Him, were restored to health.

and when they come from market they will not eat without bathing first; and they have a good many other customs which they have received traditionally and cling to, such as the rinsing of cups and pots and of bronze utensils, and the washing of beds.)

"Where can we possibly get bread here in this remote place to satisfy such a crowd?" answered His disciples.

The Pharisees followed Him and began to dispute with Him, asking Him for a sign in the sky, to make trial of Him.

For whoever is bent on securing his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News, will secure it.

His garments also became dazzling with brilliant whiteness--such whiteness as no bleaching on earth could give.

For he knew not what to say: they were filled with such awe.

"Whoever for my sake receives one such young child as this, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not so much me as Him who sent me."

"In solemn truth I tell you," replied Jesus, "that there is no one who has forsaken house or brothers or sisters, or mother or father, or children or lands, for my sake and for the sake of the Good News,

"You yourselves must be on your guard. They will deliver you up to Sanhedrins; you will be brought into synagogues and cruelly beaten; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to be witnesses to them for me.

and but for the fact that the Lord has cut short those days, no one would escape; but for the sake of His own People whom He has chosen for Himself He has cut short the days.

Then He will send forth the angels and gather together His chosen People from north, south, east and west, from the remotest parts of the earth and the sky.

Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.

"I am," replied Jesus, "and you and others will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the divine Power, and coming amid the clouds of the sky."

And signs shall attend those who believe, even such as these. By making use of my name they shall expel demons. They shall speak new languages.

They shall take up venomous snakes, and if they drink any deadly poison it shall do them no harm whatever. They shall lay their hands on the sick, and the sick shall recover."

She was greatly agitated at his words, and wondered what such a greeting meant.

Now when all the people had been baptized, and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the sky opened,

But Jesus replied to them, "It is not men in good health who require a physician, but the sick.

"Blessed are you when men shall hate you and exclude you from their society and insult you, and spurn your very names as evil things, for the Son of Man's sake.

"Be glad at such a time, and dance for joy; for your reward is great in Heaven; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the Prophets!

"But to you who are listening to me I say, Love your enemies; seek the welfare of those who hate you;

and sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to cure the sick.

And Herod said, "John I have beheaded; but who is this, of whom I hear such reports?" And he sought for an opportunity of seeing Jesus.

For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake shall save it.

and said to them, "Whoever for my sake receives this little child, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives Him who sent me. For the lowliest among you all--he is the greatest."

Cure the sick in that town, and tell them, "'The Kingdom of God is now at your door.'

On that same occasion Jesus was filled by the Holy Spirit with rapturous joy. "I give Thee fervent thanks," He exclaimed, "O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, that Thou hast hidden these things from sages and men of understanding, and hast revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for such has been Thy gracious will.

"So I say to you, 'Ask, and what you ask for shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you.'

Others, to put Him to the test, asked Him for a sign in the sky.

Hereupon one of the expounders of the Law exclaimed, "Rabbi, in saying such things you reproach us also."

Vain pretenders! You know how to read the aspect of earth and sky. How is it you cannot read this present time?

But it is easier for earth and sky to pass away than for one smallest detail of the Law to fall to the ground.

but on the day that Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from the sky and destroyed them all.

"I solemnly tell you," replied Jesus, "that there is no one who has left house or wife, or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of God's Kingdom,

For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."

"But before all these things happen they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you up to synagogues and to prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my sake.

Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.

but He said to them, "Why such alarm? And why are there such questionings in your minds?

who were begotten as such not by human descent, nor through an impulse of their own nature, nor through the will of a human father, but from God.

But a time is coming--nay, has already come--when the true worshippers will worship the Father with true spiritual worship; for indeed the Father desires such worshippers.

In these there used to lie a great number of sick persons, and of people who were blind or lame or paralyzed.

A vast multitude followed Him, because they witnessed the miracles on the sick which He was constantly performing.

For I have left Heaven and have come down to earth not to seek my own pleasure, but to do the will of Him who sent me.

Many therefore of His disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is hard to accept. Who can listen to such teaching?"

Such was His answer, and He remained in Galilee.

Now, in the Law, Moses has ordered us to stone such women to death. But what do you say?"

This led some of the Pharisees to say, "That man has not come from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." "How is it possible for a bad man to do such miracles?" argued others.

Such was their answer, because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already settled among themselves that if any one should acknowledge Jesus as the Christ, he should be excluded from the synagogue.

From the beginning of the world such a thing was never heard of as that any one should open the eyes of a man blind from his birth.